1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to communications with downhole instruments in a well bore and, in particular, to an improved method, system, and apparatus for time interlaced communications.
2. Description of Related Art
In the subterranean drilling and completion industries, including with regard to oil and gas exploration and retrieval, it is known for surface equipment to communicate with downhole equipment located in a well bore, including sensors, controllers, and tools. Such downhole communication is useful, for example, for permanent monitoring of downhole equipment and measurement systems, including static and dynamic pressure, temperature, artificial lift parameters, and other information as understood by those skilled in the art. Such information is useful to determine production performance, calculate reserves, and input into reservoir simulations. Such information can also be used to determine reservoir characteristics and to control and optimize production rates.
Downhole communications can occur, for example, over a cable from the surface to downhole equipment located in a well bore, including a dedicated communications cable and also including a communications over a power cable. Downhole communications can be one-way or, more commonly, two-way, i.e., both from and to the surface. Due to the benefits of downhole communications, it is known for multiple systems to attempt to coexist.